Thursday, August 18, 2016

Age 8, saw my 1st garden like this, below, in Augusta, GA. The adults were content to stay inside & chat. I did the rude child thing, and begged to go outside. They were glad to get rid of me. Had to be, I was more than glad to be gone from them. Not until I saw the movie, Beetlejuice, did anything describe how I felt, going outside that house, that day, into the garden. Another world.
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The garden was entirely green, wild, mischievously wild. Looking ahead, left, right, the garden was telling me to go everywhere, all a fabulous mystery, yet speaking to me in a language I knew. And, that feeling of being alone, in this adventure, perhaps explains more fully, in adulthood, studying historic landscapes across Europe for decades. And creating the garden for myself.
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Few ask for. or understand, this type garden, up front, in USA. I design as much of them into the ubiquitous requests, as I can. A tiny handful, across 3 decades, have asked for the full monty.
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I was caught by this garden, below, being presumptuous. It's owner, in the public eye for decades with an international successful career, and public persona so Cruella Deville, Meryl Streep played her in a movie. The garden, below, takes her mask off. Anna Wintour's garden, below.

Friday, June 24, 2016

With an engineering degree backing my horticulture degree there is always an element of wishing I had been there at construction while studying historic gardens across Europe for decades.
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About 4 years ago a client said she wanted a walled orchard.
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Oddly, I knew where it should go, how it should look, how big it should be, how many gates it should have, and what each gate should look like.
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The Orchard is coming into its own this year, and will be ready for showtime pics next year. I've taken pics starting with virgin pasture.
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Sideways learning. Knowing, with confidence, how to design the orchard. Century old bricks, each gate custom. Yes, the expense matches its wonder. Building a pool or walled orchard, without confidence, I would have to step away. Too much money on the line, for mistakes. More, it's building someone's dream, one they will have to live with. No margin for error.
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Pic, above, here.
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"He started to worry though that he would get
stuck in a job doing something he didn't believe in, so he quit and moved to
Spain with his wife and he started to write poetry." .

I come across sentences, above, humbly pausing. Deciding to pin the safety of life's earnings upon a garden design career, with huge blow back & fear mongering from family. Even years of pitiful earnings, never swayed my choice. After 2008's debacle to the economy, and my career trajectory stronger/better, all the previous years mount into decades, it's obvious, best choice ever.
.Joseph Campbell is right, Follow your bliss. When you get into the pure groove, all types of unseen hands, the universe itself, partakes in your bliss, along the way you get private acknowledgements that you're indeed in your groove, someone asks you to design/build an old orchard, oddly you know exactly what to do, and already have the experienced talented team to execute.
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Garden & Be Well, XOT
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There was a question about the orchard, one of the corners too close to the gravel lane. One of my favorite aspects, the lane evolved around the orchard, not the reverse. Corner & lane built as designed.